Santorum had his sights set on Ohio’s primary next Tuesday, even as Michigan Republicans choose between him and native son Mitt Romney in that state’s primary today.

He stressed his energy and manufacturing policies — increased drilling and reduced regulations for traditional energy sources such as oil, gas and coal, and no corporate tax on manufacturing — and launched into a verbal assault on President Barack Obama’s foreign policy.

But the nation, and surely Santorum himself, are eager to see what happens in Michigan’s primary tonight — where a Santorum victory or even a narrow Romney triumph could set the political world ablaze with doubts about Romney’s chances of capturing the nomination.

Polling shows Romney and Santorum essentially tied in Michigan, where 30 delegates are at stake.

“I think we’re going to do well, I feel good,” Santorum said to reporters as he shook hands with supporters from the Perrysburg crowd of more than 500. “The fact that we’re in this race and competitive is a huge win for us right off. It’s Mitt Romney’s home state.”

Election day in Michigan has become a back and forth over an automated call to Democrats paid for by Santorum that encourages them to vote for the former Pennsylvania senator, reminding them of Romney’s opposition to the federal financial bailout of General Motors and Chrysler.

Santorum’s campaign has acknowledged the robocalls, and today Santorum seemed to defend them during his speech.

“It’s the message we’re selling not just to Republicans but Republicans and Democrats, Reagan Democrats, who were the key to us winning Ohio and Pennsylvania and Michigan back in the day when Ronald Reagan represented a party that stood for all of the values that made this country great.”

Ryan Williams, Romney’s national press secretary, who’s been stationed in Ohio and was in attendance for Santorum’s speech, told The Dispatch that Santorum’s robocalls were “hypocritical and disgraceful.”

“He’s co-opting the liberal language used by President Obama and his union allies to lure Democrats into voting in the Republican primary,” Williams said. “Not to mention that Senator Santorum opposed the bailout as well. What he’s done (with the robocall) will raise an enormous amount of concern among conservatives looking for a candidate who will promote traditional conservative values.”

Santorum spoke at length on Obama’s proposed defense spending cuts, the apology the president issued recently for American soldiers’ accidental burning of Islamic religious materials, and about Iran’s nuclear capacity.

“This president is destroying the greatest military in the history of the world, and on top of that he’s destroyed American credibility all over the world,” Santorum said.

Santorum criticized chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey for saying it was “unclear” if Iran would build a nuclear bomb. “This guy’s in charge?” Santorum quipped.

"Everyone — other than maybe the Republicans running for president — has seen America's credibility and international standing greatly strengthened under President Obama,” Benenati said. "The GOP is using desperate attacks to distract from the president's already historic military achievements, including ending the war in Iraq, beginning a transition out of Afghanistan, and killing Osama bin Laden and more al Qaeda leaders than at any time since 9/11."